Chapter Text
She notices him right away. She notices him, but doesn’t necessarily fall for him that very second. He is tall, and conventionally handsome of course, his thick curly hair, dark and effortlessly tussled. His square jaw and perfectly proportioned nose. There are probably six other women in the pub that notice all those things immediately, and like what they see just the same as her.
But the love part comes just a minute after she first sees him. When he pulls off his red windbreaker and sits at the table with two other men that look strikingly similar. He is wearing a black acid washed tee shirt adorned with a pastel rainbow and cartoon unicorn, pink bubble letters read ‘Alpha Male’ underneath the graphic. Usually a man wearing any type of graphic tee, ironically or not, would seem like a wanker. But not this specific man, in this specific tee shirt. Because he is so masculine looking and handsome, and is loudly proclaiming “fuck Andrew Tate” in a pub in Covent Gardens.
Suddenly Eloise's arm is looped through hers, dragging her along by the crook of her elbow. Is Penelope suddenly wearing very obvious heart-shaped glasses? Because Eloise seems to be honed right in on the table of very attractive men, most especially on the one wearing his heart on his tee. She digs her heels into the sticky pub floor as best one can dig pink converse sneakers into worn concrete.
“Eloise, what are you doing?” she nearly yells, controlling her volume on the last words when she realizes how close they actually are to the table.
“I told you my brothers might come by, and they have.” Eloise replies with such nonchalance you'd think they were in her own apartment instead of a crowded pub.
To Penelope's shocked delight/horror, Eloise slides right up to the table with the very attractive man. Penelope can feel her cheeks flush and forces her mouth shut - realizing a second too late she had let it gape open as she inspected Mr. Rainbow Unicorn from this closer proximity.
“These are my brothers,” Eloise waves at the table. “Anthony, Benedict, and Colin.”
“Hello!” They all say in unison with the same casual wave. Penelope has been trying to avoid looking directly at Colin, the one in the striking graphic tee, but now her eyes betray her and she notices the top of his soft cheeks are a bit pinker. His green eyes flash when they make direct eye contact with hers.
“ABC … I get it now!” Penelope exclaims. They all look at her inquisitively.
Penelope shakes her head slightly, “El mentioned you were all named alphabetically, it didn't click until now what exactly that meant.” She feels like a complete idiot.
“It's nice to meet you, all.” She says quietly, suddenly vacillating between stupid outbursts and extremely shy greetings.
“It's nice to meet you …” Colin says, leaning forward into the table more.
“Penelope!” Eloise exclaims. “I've told you that before.” She says patronizingly.
Colin’s mouth snaps shut and curves into a smile.
“Oh this is Penelope.” Benedict says. “Our mother seems quite taken with you. She's just thrilled you and Eloise have become such fast friends.”
Penelope smiles awkwardly. She didn’t realize her reputation had preceded her, and to such a handsome set of people. This is not helping her calm her heartbeat in front of the man that is making it difficult to see straight. Has he heard things about her from his mother? What could Violet Bridgerton have possibly said?
“She’s the best!” Eloise replies on her behalf, wrapping her arm around Penelope’s shoulder and pulling her into a sidehug.
“I try.” Penelope chuckles lightly, “to be my bestest.” She winces at herself, scrunching her face. But then she notices Colin smiles broadly at her when she does this, so she relaxes her face and looks at him more directly. His face seems to wash with a stunned look, like he wasn’t expected to be noticed, and his eyes dart away.
“Oh shit Colin, I love your shirt!” Eloise says loudly. “I'm going to steal it!”
“Please don't, it's quickly become my favourite.” He says with a happy tone.
“I noticed it as soon as you walked into the bar.” Penelope blurts out. “It's great.”
Colin’s expression is pure pride. Eloise's eyes shift from her brother to Penelope and back again.
“So what do you do for work, Penelope?” Benedict asks.
“I’m a private investigator.” Penelope answers very directly, sharply almost. She is very proud of her work, and while some people might not see the value in it, she knows her clients do, and she is very good at it.
The three men all look at her with wide eyes.
“I know right!” Eloise cuts in, “isn’t that so cool.” Cool? Penelope had never thought of anything she does as cool.
“Oh, you’re the one mother has been going on about.” Anthony says suddenly. “We’ve been looking to expand our team at the firm and mother has been telling me about this friend of El’s who is an investigator … it’s all making sense now.”
Penelope gives him a questioning look, “your firm?”
“I’m a lawyer - private practice.” He confirms.
She nods, “I’ve done work with lots of legal firms before.”
Anthony shuffles in his seat and gets his wallet out of his back pocket, retrieving a business card.
“Give me a call on Monday, if you’re interested in picking up some cases.”
Penelope flips the card over her fingers and knuckles playfully. “Sure, of course,” And when her eyes betray her once again by glancing at Colin, she notices he’s watching her hands closely, biting his bottom lip.
“What do you do for work?” She asks him directly, and she sees him shake his head as if to return his focus to the conversation.
“I - uh, I’m an accountant.”
Benedict furrows his brow and gives Colin a sidelong glance.
“What are you on about, you plonker? You manage my store.”
Anthony tries to hide a chuckle under his breath, but his shaking shoulders give him away. “I'm an accountant,” he says in a quiet, yet mocking tone.
Colin raises his eyebrows as he looks beside him to his brothers, his cheeks are deep rose by this point, and he shifts uncomfortably in his seat on the bench they are sharing.
“Well most of the work involved is accounting. I suppose I do some supply ordering, and staff schedules as well. Sometimes I have to photocopy things, but I didn’t think she wanted my full job description.” He says sharply, but turns and gives her a warm, and very charming smile.
She giggles.
“I’m an accountant by training. Roped into managing my brother's ceramics shop. He makes very pretty housewares, and I help him sell those very pretty housewares.”
She raises her eyebrows and returns the smile with matching warmth.
“That's nice. Keeping it in the family. I'd love to see the very pretty housewares sometime.” Penelope says with a confidence she has never in her life possessed. For some reason, despite the fact that Colin Bridgerton might be the most attractive man she has ever met, he somehow also makes her feel very at ease with herself. Maybe it's the warmth in his eyes, that he only seems to aim at her, or the smile he is not doing a great job at stifling whenever she catches him looking her way.
Anthony stands to drag two unoccupied chairs from the table next to them over so the women can sit. Colin immediately pulls the one nearest Penelope over closer to the corner of the table where he sits, and Penelope notices Benedict and Eloise exchange some sort of look, some kind of inaudible conversation occurring right in front of her.
Colin breaks the awkward silence witnessing these eye games is creating, “Well I'm starving, is anyone else going to order something?”
Eloise rolls her eyes at him, “you're always hungry. It's like your default mode.”
Penelope chuckles slightly at the mock offended look Colin shoots his sister. He pats his stomach and shrugs.
“I have a great metabolism I suppose.”
Benedict pokes his slightly protruding belly, “are you sure about that?” He teases lightly.
Penelope sees Colin's cheeks flush and his chest expand slightly. She knows the move, she's done it herself many times before. Pulling in your waistline slightly by filling your lungs more.
Her heart softens for this man, this practical stranger, just a little bit more. Eloise nearly does a double take as she looks at her friend's expression.
“I could go for something,” Penelope offers. She isn't sure if it was because now he has permission to get food, or because he realizes she is defending him, but he lights up like a Christmas tree. His green eyes sparkle at her as if they were actual emeralds she could extract from his face and sell to a jeweler. She feels her own gaze suddenly stuck staring into his, like he is magnetic and she has crept too close to his field. But she doesn't mind the feeling of being pulled like this. It makes her feel warm, and somehow strong, and like the rest of the pub is a little bit dimmer around them. All the other voices, including those of the people at the same table, are slightly muffled and fuzzy. But Colin's voice is bright and clear through the din as he offers to take her to the bar to order; suddenly he is standing on tree trunk legs in front of her with his hand out stretched and she is being pulled away from the six other Bridgerton eyes that are trained on her at that moment.
He notices her in his peripheral vision as soon as he enters the pub. He isn't sure how everyone else in the place isn't also enamoured with her, they all seem to be playing it cool for some reason, or they are just blind. But as he unzips his jacket, a splash of red flicks into his eyeline and his attention is drawn to a wave of gorgeous auburn curls as she turns her face from his view. As he slips into the booth seat his eyes snap back in her direction and that's when he sees what anyone would describe as an angel. Her eyes, almost golden, are alight with wonder, like she is trying to absorb everything, all at once. Her pert nose, and those cherub cheeks, a little pink. He wants to pinch them but also cup them. He quickly takes in the soft plush of her lips before forcing himself to look away, he isn't sure if he could stand the embarrassment of being caught out staring at a literal stranger like he has been just now. But they just look so perfectly … kissable. And her tiny frame, she must be nearly a full foot shorter than he is, with a waist made to have thick arms wrapped around. She is perfectly hourglass shaped - curvy in a way his fantasies always seem to scream at him about.
But then he sees his sister dragging the aforementioned angel right over to his table, and now - now … he is holding her hand as they navigate through the crowded pub towards the bar.
He's not holding her hand too tightly, just a light grip to keep them linked together. Their fingers are not intertwined, just her hand, grasped lightly in his, because anything more bold would be insane because he's only known this woman - Penelope - for about 7 minutes. But for 4 minutes and 42 seconds of those minutes he's been desperately trying to figure out a way to make his brothers and sister leave.
As they stand against the bar, he slips his body behind hers, protectively guarding her from being jostled by the crowd of other patrons. He knows it’s not really his responsibility to protect her from anything, but mostly he wants to prevent any other person in the establishment from pulling her attention away from him specifically. Selfish he knows, but he can’t find it in himself to care.
“So where did you get such a charming shirt?” She looks up at him with those remarkably gold flecked eyes and he almost sways backwards at the power of her gaze on him.
“Uh ..” he glances down at his graphic tee and smiles slightly, “I saw some bloke wearing it online and had to own it. It’s quite the attention grabber.”
“From ladies? I can see why. It’s like wearing a giant green flag.”
He ponders this for a moment, because in truth, not really. He’s seen a few women notice the message and gently smile to themselves as they walk past, but none have explicitly been drawn in enough to comment. This is especially true when he’s in the presence of his older brothers, both much trimmer and leaner than he has ever been. They all look remarkably similar, no one would ever doubt their kinship, but compared to all seven of his siblings, he is definitely an outlier in form. Tall yes, but not lithe like the rest of them.
“Mostly other alpha males,” he chuckles. “For some reason any association with pastel rainbows seems to be a threat to their species."
She giggles at this idea, and sucks that very kissable bottom lip under her teeth. Why is she torturing him so furiously?
“They tend to be a fragile sort,” she shoots back jovially. “I hope it doesn’t cause any actual harm to you.” She adds as she reaches to his bicep and tugs a bit on the dark grey fabric of the sleeve. He lays his hand over hers, pressing her tiny hand to the muscle there for a moment, basking in the warmth upon his skin.
“Nothing I can’t talk my way out of,” he replies with a dare in his eyes.
“Why do I have the feeling you could talk your way out of anything?” She teases.
He shrugs and offers her a lop-sidded grin.
But before he can offer any further explanation they are interrupted by the barman.
“What can I get you lot?”
“Do you have Harp on tap?” Penelope asks.
The man nods.
“I’ll have a pint.” she responds.
“Make that two,” Colin adds with a smile. “And a double order of chips.”
She turns to him, practically spinning into his arms with the way he’s leaning against the counter on one outstretched arm. “You can order actual food, you know, if you’re hungry - no one can survive on chips alone.”
He looks back up to the barman, “And a smoked salmon sandwich” he breathes out quickly with a smirk. Eloise was correct, he is almost always hungry - even when he thinks there is a kaleidoscope of butterflies in his stomach trying to forcefully escape confinement.
Eloise can’t quite parse what she is watching. Logically she understands what is happening: her new friend Penelope seems to be very interested in whatever Colin seems to be saying to her as they wait at the bar for their food order. They are slowly drinking pints and giggling about something between them; they didn’t bother to return to the table where she and her two oldest brothers are sitting while they wait for their food. But she cannot fully comprehend the events of the last twenty minutes, the look on Colin’s face; one she’s never seen him make before, and his awkwardness at the table. He’s never been awkward around anyone, about anything. It’s almost annoying how self assured he is; always able to let any comment, event, misfortune roll off his back. But he has also never actually told anyone he is an accountant either. Generally he describes the work he does for Benedict’s business much more casually, never one to take anything, especially his career, all that seriously.
Now she sits twisted in her chair so she can monitor the duo as they chat at the bar. He’s pressed needlessly close to Penelope, practically caging her in front of him. Eloise wonders if she should go rescue her new friend. She hadn’t meant to throw her to the wolves like this; not that she would describe Colin as a wolf, or any animal for that matter. He’s never been serious about any woman that she can recall. But maybe that is worse - she seems to have hit it off well with Penelope Featherington, and their friendship, although short, is already quite deep and important to her. She would hate to have things turn uncomfortable and lose this potential life-long companion whom she seems to share so much in common with (most importantly, taste in books). What could her brother, the one always flitting in and out of England, the one who would turn on his heels to leave a party if their mother even suggested she knew a single girl for him to meet, possibly be doing standing so damn close to Penelope?
They are finally making their way back to the table, with conspiratorial looking smiles and glances between them. It’s as if these two people who have known each other’s names for less than an hour already share some sort of inside joke. Penelope places the oversized plate of chips on the table and Benedict instantly reaches to grab a handful, only to have it slapped away by Colin with a warning look in his eye.
“Oy! What gives? That looks like a sharable serving.” Benedict scoffs.
“It is,” Colin returns, “for Penelope and I to share.”
Penelope only adds a giggle to the conversation, as she plucks a single fry from the pile and bites it emphatically, arching her eyebrows at a bewildered Ben.
Before they all leave and begin to walk in separate directions to the different burrows of London where they all reside, Eloise sees Colin lean into Penelope’s ear as they stand next to each other on the pavement and whisper something. Something pleasing she thinks, because Penelope smiles more brightly than Eloise has ever seen before; and then Penelope pulls her phone from her back pocket and hands it to him. He has a smile that Eloise has never seen her brother wear before, as he types into her phone, and then returns it to her hands..
Colin offers his siblings an exaggerated wave goodbye before lurching off in the direction of his flat. Penelope offers shy smiles and head nods before she departs. ‘Nice to meet you’ is muttered several times, and then it is over. She watches Penelope shuffle down the street away from the pub, and Benedict looks at Eloise with an eyebrow raised.
“She’s a very nice girl,” he says in a neutral tone.
“Yes, I thought you’d all like her. Mum does for sure.”
“And Colin.” Anthony adds lightly.
They all exchange a look, and then a chuckle.